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I .4 1 lJ. I 






THE GEOOKAPIIV (>F ILLINOIS 

Tin: C^EOGRAPin C)I" II.l.lNOIS 

By J. Paul Goodb, Assistant Prufessor of Geography, tin- I 'nitrrsity of Chuago. 



ILLIXOJS AS \ 
WHOLE 

Location. The sUitc 
ci llliiuiis lies almost 
in the licart of tlie 
North American conti- 
nent. It is in tlie very 
miiklle of the Greiit 
Central Plain, hence it 
has no barrier on any 
side. It is renic )te from 
the sea, hence it has a 
characteristic conti- 
nental climate. Its 
borders are washed by 
the navigable waters 
of the two largest riv- 
ers on the continent, 
hence commerce is in- 
vited. How it came 
1 'Y its land surface, its 
fertile soil, its rich 
mineral wealth, and 
how all these have 
shaped the course of 
human histor>' within 
its borders, is the story 
which the geogra]:)h\- 
of Illinois has to tell. 

Size. The most southern jxnnt of the 
" Prairie Stiitc" lies in the Mississippi River 




I rclii-j niiip oj Illinois. 



at 36 degrees 59 min- 
utes north latitude; 
its northern bountl- 
ar\', 385 miles farther 
north, is on the par- 
allel of 42 degrees 30 
minutcs,a line ad< )ptcd 
imrpfjsely to bring the 
|Mirt of Chicago well 
within the stiite. Its 
most eastern margin is 
on the meridian of 87 
degrees 35 minutes 
west, from which line 
the stiite extends west- 
ward 218 miles, to the 
outer edge of Adams 
County on the .Missis- 
sippi River in 91 de- 
grees 40 minutes west 
longitude. This gives 
Illinois an area of 56,- 
650 square miles, of 
which 650 square miles 
are water. 

Surface. The sur- 
face of Illinois is very 
flat. From a mean 
river level of 267 feet 
above the sea at Cairo, 



the land rises gradually to its highest points 
in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties, where 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 





■; *. 8 5 5 5 < .-. „ : 

I I ■ I Mi 7"' 

K (3 ? t. t. -. •: 



X ■? -? ■? ? 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF H.LINOIS 




present continent of North America was mostly cov- 
ered by shallow seas. The old land nf this so-called 
pre-Cambrian time extended from northern Minne- 
sota to Norway and Scotland. South of this land 
lay large islands in what is now northern Wisconsin, 
and in the Adirondack region ; a long ridge of land 
extended down the eastern edge of the present 
Appalachian Mountains ; there was also a small island 
in southeastern ]\Iissouri, and perhajjs one in the 
southern part of Illinois. (Fig. 5.) 

Illinois at that time lay at the bottom of the shal- 
low sea extending between Isle Wisconsin and the 
Missouri isle, and was continually receiving detritus 
whicli later formed limestones. Near the land broad 
zones of sand were being worked over by waves and 
undertow, forming beds of future samlstoiies which 
dipped off toward the deeper sea. These sandstones 
are now great reservoirs, bringing the rain water 
from Wisconsin and Missouri down the dip to Illinois, 
and making possible our artesian wells. Although 
this sea was being filled all the time, yet it was 
many millions of years before there was dry land 
within the limits of the state. 

After many ages the sea liad boon filli-d up and 



physical map of Illinois. 



it is only a little more than a thousand feet 
above sea level. (Fig. 4.) This flatness is 
one of the state's largest resources, for being 
mantled with the richest of soils, agriculture 
is carried on in the largest measure and the 
building of railways and common roads is 
greatly facilitated. Because of these condi- 
tions Illinois ranks first in the value of farm 
land, and stands second, and only slightly 
behind Iowa, in the total value of farm prod- 
ucts. Illinois ranks first in the production 
of com and oats, and lies at the very center 
of the agricultural activity of the whole coun- 
try. (Dodge Figs. 259, 260, 262, and 263.) 

The Geological Story. The present sur- 
face and soil of Illinois have a long, long 
history, extending backward over perhaps a 
hundred million vears to a time when the 




•'iG. 5. Isle irji< .ii;.v;j;, t'r.c ^dd IdUi! .•; M:ssoiiri, d>:J 
the adjacent seas. 



THE GEUGRAFIIV oF ILLINOIS 



nearly the whole state 
was a groat swamp where 
the marsh plants were 
fallinj^ down and iK'ing 
converted into beds of 
/Vii/ many feet in thick- 
ness, only to have tlie 
land sink and the sea 
cover them again. So 
through long ages, with 
the land level slightly 
above or slightly below 
the level of the sea, the 
rock and peat layers 
which constitute the 
present coal measures 
were l>eing formed. At 
the end of this period 
only the southern tip of 
the state was beneath 
the sea, and that was 
reclaimed soon afterward. 
The changes wrought 
in the Great Ice Age arc 
of next importance. Tlie 
ice sheet at its farthest 
advance coveretl almost 
all of the state except Jo 
Daviess County and tliat portion which lies 
south of a line drawn through Shawnee- 
town and Carbondale. (Fig. 6.) It bmuglit 
with it from the north lands, rocks and 
earth, which it left quite evenly distributed 
over all the area when it melted back. It 
advanced and retreats 1 repeatedly, Cf>ming 




Fig 



.iTrmgk 



■ tt 1. J fnrhes 



m the last advance like 
,1 great tongue of ice out 
'f tlie trough of Lake 
Midiigan, leaving its mar- 
;,'inal moraines in long 
rows of low hills with un- 
ilrained flat lands be- 
tween. (Fig. 6.) 

At various times clur- 
ing the iK'rio<l of the ice 
ivtreat the Great Lakes 
ilischarged their waters 
lo the Gulf of Mexico 
through the Mississi])pi, 
tlie Illinois, and tlie Wa- 
liasli rivers. 

Tile sheet or mantle of 
'Irift left by the ice is ex- 
nedinglyrich soil, and the 
Inittoni lands formeil in 
I lie valleysof the great riv- 
ers are unexcelled in fer- 
tility. These ailvantages, 
together with the favor- 
able climate and amjile 
rainfall, have madelllinois 
the richest agricultural 
state in the Union. 
Climate. Lying in the middle of the 
Great Central Plain, Illinois is exp<ised to 
every wind that blows. It has a well marked 
continental climate with wide contrasts in 
temjjerature between summer and winter. 
In summer 105 degrees is not uncommon, 
wliile in winter .^5 degrees lielow 7,ero is 



6. Areas covered by ici in the Uln\otsi]>:, 
Itrwan, and Wisconsin epochs of the 
Great Ice Af^e. 






6. i. 



Fic. 7. The annual rainfall at Dubuque, la., from 
1S80 to tgoj. 



A 


vr 


ra 


<^( 




J 


_ 




/ 


ic 


/„■ 


* 








-- 


•- 


--, 



Fir.. ,'' The iinnuol 



. .; .. . ., .. 5. J s -, 
1/ Cairo, lit , from iSSo 



;.' /i.'i 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



sometimes recorded in the northern cotinties of the 
state. (Fig. 9.) 

The growing season, or the period between the 
latest and the earliest killing frosts, varies from six 
months in the north to seven months in the south. 

The weather of the state is almost wholly deter- 
mined by the passage of cyclonic stonns. An end- 
less procession of low pressures is passing eastward 
across the continent, and many of them cross Illi- 
nois. Even when the center of a storm is far to the 
north or south, Illinois is swept by winds produced 
by the cyclone. (Dodge Figs. 90, 92, and 96.) Some- 
times these storms are accompanied by destructive 
tornadoes. Peoria is near the center of tornado fre- 
quency in America. 

Because of the constantly shifting winds the rain- 
fall of Illinois is well distributed througli the year, 

and the 
rain3f and 
cloudy days 
are well in- 
terspersed 
with days 
of sunshine. 
The ample 
supply of 
moisture, 





0. Mean tcmp^ifTft^^^ sitliiwis in 
January and July. 



warm days, and abundant sunshine favor the growth 
of com. There is usually an abundance of rain for 
all farm crops and for all forest trees. (Fig. 10.) 
Yet there are occasional drouths which do immense 
damage to the crops. (Figs. 7 and 8.) Doubtless 
these occasional severe drouths have helped to keep 
large areas of the state treeless. 

Vegetation. The ice invasion and the lack of bar- 
riers have provided a wide variety of plant forms in 
Illinois; northern species have mixed with invaders 
from the humid gulf region and from the arid south- 
west. The great forest area of the eastern United 
States originally covered the southern counties of 
Illinois and followed up the river valleys. (Fig. 12.) 
Most of the state, however, was prairie when the 
white man came. Lack of drainage over large areas, 
occasional drouths, and annual prairie fires have 
kept the prairie free from trees. Since the land has 



THE GEOORAFHV ol- ILLI.\(1IS 




Fig. II. StanrJ K^hk-, .vi the Illinois I\i:rr iu\ir i'lica, 
on which, in lOSi, La Salle built l-'ort >/. Louis. 

been drained and the prairie fires suppressed, 
trees will grow anywhere. 

Animal Life. When La Salle made his 
first visit to the region, 
game was plentiful. 
ButTalo, deer, and elk 
roamed the prairies. 
Bears, wolves, panthers, 
raccoons, and opossums 
abounded in the woods 
The wild swan, the goose, 
the duck, and the ]X'lican 
were common on all tiie 
waters. Now all the large 
forms of wild life have 
disiippeared, and even the 
smaller game birds are 
kept from extermination 
only by the favor of the 
law. 

Nearly half a million 
dollars' worth of fish were 
taken from the Illinois 
River alone in 1900, and 
while the waters of the 
stiitc have an enormous 
capacity for raising fish, 
they have been much 
neglected. Now, how 
ever, there is a State Fish 



Commission and some 
attention is being given 
to hatching and ]irotect- 
ing fish. 

Native Peoples. Twm 
liundred years ago llli 
nois was sparsely pei 
l)led by a few thous;ini 1 
Indians. The Algonquin 
t HI les occupied the slate, 
tlie Pottawa ttomies 
about Chicago, the Sacs 
and the Foxes in the 
Rockford region, the 
Illinois along llie river 
bearing their name, and 
various smaller tribes 
elsewhere, while the tcr- 




X,. The La >alle 
moituiiieiil III l.nuoln 
Park Chicago. 




I'll... 1-' ihc distribution oj vegetation. 



ritory of the great Siouan 
family touched the west- 
ern boundary of the 
state along the Mississippi 
River. To-day they are 
all gone. 

History. The French 
voyagcurs and the Jesuit 
[•"athers were the first 
white jx'ople to visit the 
jiresent stiite of Illinois. 
They had established 
themselves on the lower 
Si. Lawrence, and had 
pushed westward along 
the rivers in their quest 
lor furs and in their zeal 
for converting the sav- 
ages. This is how in 1673 
tlie Jesuit jiriest. Fere 
.Maniuette, and the fur 
trader, Louis Joliet, came 
to ex]ilore the .Mississijipi, 
coming from Lake Michi- 
gan by way of the Fox 
and the Wisconsin rivers, 
and lloatmg down the 



8 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



"Father of Waters" in their 
birch -bark canoes. Some- 
where near the mouth of the 
Des Moines River they were 
hospitably entertained by the 
lUinois, tiie tribe whose name 
was later applied to the state. 
They explored the country as 
far south as the Arkansas 
River, and returning north, 
their course took them up the 
lUinois River. (Fig. 15.) The 
winter of 1674-5 Pere Mar- 
quette spent, sick, in a cabin 
on the Chicago River, near 
where the city of Chicago now 
stands. This was the first 
white man's habitation in 
the state. 

In the winter of 1679- 
80 La Salle, with a party 
including Tonty and 
Father Hennepin, came 
up the St. Joseph River, 
portaged to the Kankakee 
in Indiana, and drifted 
down the Illinois River. 
In January of 1680 
they built a fort which 
they called " Crevecoeur, " 
on the left bank of the 
Illinois a short distance 
below Lake Peoria. In 
February, 1680, Father 
Hennepin set out from 
this fort on his famous 
journey of exploration of 
the upper Mississippi 
River. 

In 1682 La Salle and 
Tonty built Fort St. 
Louis, on Starved Rock, 
near Utica, and within the 
next seven years French 
trading posts were estab- 




Fio. 14. George Rogers Clark. 
the hero of Kaskaskia and Vtiicennes. 
From the original pointing by Jarvis. nou' 
(jyo.) '" ""■ possession oj the Xirgvna His- 
torical Society, RKlimond, V a. 




Fig. 



The 



earliest -,'oyages 
oj the h'rcnch. 



and settlements 



lished at Kaskaskia in Ran- 
dolph County, and Cahokia in 
St. Clair County. 

Fifty years later there were 
six growing settlements within 
the area of the present state. 
In 1778 there were three im- 
portant British posts in cen- 
tral North America. These 
were Detroit, Vincennes, and 
Kaskaskia. They were a 
menace to the Kentucky set- 
tlements until George Rogers 
Clark and a handful of men 
from Kentucky, by almost in- 
credible daring, captured Kas- 
kaskia and Vincennes, and 
added the area northwest 
of the Ohio River to the 
territory which became 
the United States. Out 
of this area northwest 
of the Ohio were carved 
Ohio, IMichigan, and In- 
diana; the rest was or- 
ganized as the Territory 
of Illinois in 1809. In 
I 81 8 Illinois was ad- 
mitted as a state. 

Settlement. The French 
occupation of the region 
of Illinois contributed a 
very slender clement to 
the white population. 
Their influence remains 
mostly in a sprinkling of 
names applied to rivers 
and towns, such as 
Joliet and La Salic. The 
river routes of the central 
west brought large num- 
bers of hardy pioneers 
from Kentucky and Vir- 
ginia in the early decades 
of the nineteen til century. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



The hostility of the Indians 
rctardt'd settlement from 
the north. After the Black 
Hawk War there was a large 
influx from the eastern 
states, by way of the Great 
Lakes and the Erie Canal. 
In the 40's and 50's a great 
German immigration came 
along the same route. Chi- 
cago to-day has one of the 
largest German populations 
of any city in the world. A 
few years later a large influx 
of Scandinavians settled in 
the northwestern counties. 
Since the coming of the mil- 
way in 1850 development 
has been rapid in even.- part 
of the state. Since the 80's 
the increase in population 




Fio. 16. Black H.\wk (.A/.i-K'.i-'f.ii- 
Mi--SIif-Kia-K'iiili), chili ^'j the Sacs utiJ 
Foxes «»« 18 J2, born at Kaskaskia, III., tjOj. 

From a tilhogruph porlratl in McKfnney's 'Histarv 
of Ihe InJuin Tribis of Sorlh AnuTka," jnd npro 
Jucrd by pi-rmission of Ihc Chieaao HisloTtcal Society . 




l-'io 17. .1 tyfical early s. (fur's , ,i ■ .: ,..• Illinois. 

.\otice the logs chinhcJ with plaster, and the old stone 

chimney. The oiithuiljings are modern. 

has been almost wholly in the cities. Chicago 
is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the 
world. 

Industrial Development. Water transpor- 
tation has liad an cxUvmely piwerful influ- 
ence in the development of Illinois. Tlie 
rivers and the lakes were the earliest lines of 
travel ; most of the settlers came by lioat. 
and the first towns were along tlie rivers. 
The introduction of steamboats upf)n the 
Ohio and the Mississippi rivers in 1811, and 



later upm the Great Lakes, 
gave a great impetus to 
western develoi)ment. The 
middle third of the last cen- 
tury' siiw stcamlwat traflic 
rise to supremacy in the 
West. At tliat time the 
Ohio and the Mississippi riv- 
ers were the greatest arteries 
of trade upon tlie continent, 
and even the Embarras, 
Kaskaskia, Illinois, and 
Rock rivers had their steam- 
boat service. The cfjming 
of the railway in 1850 fur- 
nished a better means of 
traflic, and turned the tide 
of commerce and travel from 
the rivers, so that many of 
the river towns declined in 
importance. Traflic on the 
Great Lakes, however, has 
steadily increased, until to-day they form one 
of the most important waterways of the 
world. Lake transportation, by means of 
which coal and iron are brought to Chicago 
and wheat is sliippeil east, has been one of 
the largest factors in the building of the city 
and the development of the industries of the 
state. (Fig. 23.) 

!• 'urlv davs the common n>;iiis wm- vi-ry 




FlO. I R. A Mississippi KiTcr steamboat. rir\ type ,7 stern 

wheeler built up the river commerce to southern ports 

and opened up tin industries ol tin prairies. 



lO 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



poor, as road-making material was difficult to pro- 
cure in many places. Thus tlic pioneer was seriously 
handicapped in being unable through a large part 
of the year to get his produce to market or to pro- 
cure the necessaries from the outside world. Later 
the very success of the railway building tended to dis- 
courage the making of good wagon roads. Recently, 
however, the making of good country roads has 
become a matter of pride, and many hundreds of 
miles of excellent roads have been built witliin the 
state. These roads almost invariably follow the 
section lines. Years ago the state was surveyed 
into townships six miles square, reckoning from 
so-called principal meridians and base lines as shown 
on the map. (Fig. 3.) These township lines have 
furnished the basis for county boundaries. 

The compass does not point to the true north 

anywhere 
in the state, 
Ixit a little 
to the east 
of north. 
(Fig. 19.) 
Corrections 
must be 
made a c- 
cordingly. 





Fig. 20. 



The yield of corn per square mile. 



Fig. ig. East magnetic declination, igo2. 

The compass needle points east oj 

the trite north. 



Moreo\'er, the correction for a given place varies 
sHghtly from year to year, so that a line once 
surveyed needs to be dated. 

Agriculture. By far the greatest and most endur- 
ing source of wealth in the state are the level and 
extremely fertile farming lands. The gentle slopes 
and fine soil have invited the introduction of labor- 
saving machinery, thus making large farms possible 
and enormously increasing the production per capita 
and decreasing the cost of the product. In large 
areas the extreme flatness has been a serious handi- 
cap to development, because of a lack of drain- 
age. Extensive ditching and tiling, however, have 
removed this difficulty to a large extent, and as a result 
a larger percentage of land is under the plow than 
in any other state except Iowa. (Dodge Fig. ^53.) 
Farm lands cover 91.5 per cent of the total area of 
the state, and 84.5 per cent of tliis area is improved 



THE GEOGRAPllV HI- ILLINOIS 



II 



land. The average size of the farrns is 124 
acres, and 61 per cent of the farms arc 
worked by their owners. 

The chmatc and the soil invite the cultiva- 
tion of nearly ever>' crop known in the Tem- 
perate Belt, but by far the most valuable 
prtxluct of the soil is com; over 10.000.000 
acres were planteil u, tins "niiii in i()oo 




This was more than twice 
the area given to any 
other crop; tlie yield was 
nearly 400,000,000 busli- 
els. Illinois ranks first 
in com and in the total 
production of cereals, 
with Iowa a close second. 
(Dodge Fig. 260.) The 
best yield of com is found 
in the glacial soils of 
the central and northern 
parts of the state. Here a 
yield of over 125 bushels 
per acre is often known. 
Illinois is first among 
the states in the produc- 
tion of oats. (Dodge Fig. 
263.) In 1900 4,570,o.u 
acres or 7 , 1 40 s< |uare miles 
were devoted to this cr< )p. 
About 180,000,000 bush- 
els, or an average of ,iiore 
than 2,500 bushels per 
square inile, were raised. 
(Fig. 22.) Only the st.'ite 
of Washington exceeded 





Fig. 2v The tmim'iisc griiiii vlrrators along lite Chuago 

liiicr. Grant jrom the field is sloreil here an<l then 

shipped by boat mtd rail all iK-er the uvrtd. 

this yield. Winter wheat is raised, though 
not in large quantities; Illinois is the four- 
teenth state, with only 20,000,000 bushels. 
Only 2 1, 3 7 3 acres of barley were grown in 
n)oo, though in yieUl per 
acre Illinois ranks third 
among the states. Illi- 
nois comes eighth in the 
])roduction of rye, with a 
million bushels. 

This generous produc- 
tion of {(xm{ grains puts 
Illinois far in advance of 
all other states in the 
amount and the value of 
cereals protluced. Illinois 
and Iowa have each 9.1 
JUT cent of the entire 
countni's cereal acreage. 
The value of the cereal 
crop in Illinois in 1900 
was $164,784,437, or 77.6 
])er cent of the entire crop 
value of the st;ite. 

Many profitable crops 
liesides cereals are raisetl. 
Illinois outranks all other 
states in the quantity 
and quality of its broom 
corn, producing about 
60,000,000 pounds, or 



The yield of oats per ^i/iiiirr utile. 



I 2 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



over two-thirds of the entire output of the country. 
Coles County leads, with 22 per cent of the total 
crop of the United States. 

Almost 13,000,000 bushels of potatoes were grown 
in 1899, the northern half of the state producing the 
larger portion. In the southern counties the sweet 
potato flourishes, yielding a crop of half a million 
bushels. 

Ever}' variet}'^ of temperate climate fruit thrives, 
though the apple crop, to which every' county con- 
tributes, is the largest. There were over 13,000,000 
trees, producing over 9,000,000 bushels of apples, 
in 1899; Clay County has the largest yield. 

In the same year more than 200,000 bushels of 
cherries, 130,000 bushels of pears, 13,000,000 quarts 
of strawberries, 7,000,000 quarts of blackberries, and 
20,000,000 pounds of grapes were produced, and 
large quantities of many other small fruits. (Fig. 25.) 

Climate 
and soil 
conditions 
are ideal for 
the growth 
of grass and 
other for- 
age crops. 
(Fig. 27.) 
Three and a 





I I5/.0OO — SlO.OOU 

\^~^^jO 000 — SlOO.OfM 

^^MStoo.ooo and i'r<;f 




Fig. 



The value of fruit products by counties. 



Fig. 24. The yield of wheal per square mite. 



third miUion acres ai-e now devoted 
to these crops, and taking no account of the fodder 
from cornstalks, there is a yield of nearly 4,000,000 
tons of forage crops, valued at over $25,000,000. 

Some minor crops are sorghum, tobacco, and the 
castor bean, which is raised mostly in the southern 
counties. In the production of honey Illinois leads 
the country with an annual output of 1,500,000 
pounds. 

Stock Raising. It is easy to see that with all this 
grain ami forage, stock raising may be extensively 
carried on. The superior and plentiful crops of oats 
and hay encourage the breeding of horses, of which 
there are over a million, valued at about $70,000,000. 
(Dodge Figs. 265 and 267.) Nearly all the work on 
the farms is done by horses. 

Com cannot be transported so readily as wheat. It 
heats and molds easily when kept in large quantities, 



Till. (.LOUICM'HV 1)1- ILLI.NUIS 




Fig. 36. /^. 



.lUilgo 



Th 



catUe are jattencd in llit- iountry and shipped 

elitcr. 



the sUvk 
I in III,- ..■ 
to Clitcag,' /if slang. 

SO that it is largely used on the farm as feed 
for cattle and hogs. There are in the state 
over 3,000,000 cattle, valuoil at $82,000,000. 
(Dodge Fig. 251.) Many 
of these are brought from 
the Western ranges to be 
com fed before slaughter- 
ing. DairA'ing, however, 
is an important industr>'. 
There are in the state 
over a million dair)' cows, 
yielding annually over 
450,000,000 gallons of 
milk. Much of this goes 
to Chicago and other city 
markets to be used as 
fresh milk, but the larger 
part is made into butter 
at numerous creameries 
or into cheese at facto- 
ries, f)r is condensed and 
canned for domestic and 
export trade. The largest 
factor)' in the worM for 
condensing milk is kxratcd 
at Dixon, 111. It uses 
300,000 ]K)unds of milk a 
day. The city of Elgin 
has a W(jrld-wide fame 
for its butter, and for a 



Fic. 



!iiiry ccu'S aii the Cli'cr /•'•inn. 




Uckalb, III. 

generation it has Ix'en the leading butler 
market of the country'. Nearly S6, 000, 000 
worth of butter was st)ld from this city and 
vicinity in 1 ooo. The total annual value of the 
ilairy])r(Mluclsof the stiite 
i:; 830,000,000. (Dodge 
Figs. 224 and 225.) 

One of the most pn)fit- 
able ways in which com 
goes to market is in the 
form of jiork. Illinois 
ranks second in raising of 
hogs, with about 6,000.- 
000, valued at about 
824,000,000. (Dodge Figs. 
268 and 269.) 

There are about a mil- 
lion sheep in the stiite, 
valued at nearly 84,000,- 
000. This is compara- 
tively a very small num- 
1 )er, however. Tlie nvusc >n 
for this may Ix- found in 
tlie large proportion of flat 
and relatively undniine<l 
land, which is not suit- 
able for the rearing of 
shei'p. 

Poultry Raising. Wiierc 
);rain is cheap and plen- 



Fic. IT. 



The fn.'duclton of hay and forage fn-r ^jful, poultrN' is profitable. 
sijuart mtlf. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 




aV)out two-tliirds of tlie wliolc area of the 
state, are underlaid by productive beds. 
( Fig. 32. ) Tliis coal is of very high quality, the 
l)lock coal l)eing es]jecially adapted to the 
production of steam. Tiie coal deposits lie 
in nearly horizontal beds, in a few workable 



Fig. 29. Cooling and bottling milk at the Gtirlcr dairy 
jarm, Ik-kalh, III. 

Illinois ranks second among the states with 

nearly 17,000,000 chickens, half a million 

turkeys, and nearly as many ducks, and with 

a total ])oultry value of 

about $6,500,000. In the 

production of eggs, the 

state ranks third with 

nearly 87,000,000 dozen, 

valued at about 12 cents 

a dozen at the farm. 

Total Value of Farm 
Products. In the total 
value of farm products 
Iowa and Illinois are in a 
class by themselves, lead- 
ing all other states. The 
total value for Illinois in 
1900 was 8345,000,000. 
But in the total value of 
farm lands, farm im- 
provements, live stock, 
and farm implements, 
Illinois stands far in the 
lead, its valuation reach- 
ing the almost incredible 
sum of 82,000,000,000. 

Mineral Resources. 
Illinois has enormous de- 
posits of coal. More than 
35,000 square miles, or 




l"iG. 31. Ilittulrcds 
Illiitois LOiil )U!ites, 




i i S i,ooo-S i.SOO 

S 3,500- S S'OOO 



£c- 



r 



Fig. 30. The value 



'/ jarm products per square 
mite. 



I'/ . ,u^ / i.i./fif with coal front the 
calling to be sent to the consumer. 

seams, from one foot to 
five feet ten inches thick, 
and within 600 feet of 
the surface. The most 
productive mines are in 
Sangamon, St. Clair, Ver- 
milion, Macoupin, La 
Salle, Grundy, William- 
son, and Bureau counties, 
though fifty-eight coun- 
ties contribute to tlie 
output. 

Coal was first reported 
from Flirt Crevecoeur 
by Father Hennepin ; this 
was the first discovery 
of coal in America. Not- 
withstanding this very 
early discovery, coal was 
not extensively ]ir<^- 
duced in Illinois until 
since 1870. The out]Hn 
in 1880 was al)out 6,250,- 
000 tons; in 1004 it was 
35,000,000 tons (Dodge 
Fig. 222), valued at about 
$1 a ton at the mine. This 



TIIK (;K<»c,U.\|>!IV oi? ILLINOIS 



'5 



gives Illinois second rank among the OKil-pnHluciiij^ 
states, with about lo percent of the country's output. 
(D<x1ge Fig. 2 2 2.) Tile pR"senco <>f o>;il is larj,'Lly 
n.'sjH)nsil)le for the extensixe niainif;nturing wiiieli 
is carried on in and around Chicago and other cities. 
Chicago produces 70 per cent of the toUd manufac- 
tures of the stiite. 

Limestones convenient for building and road- 
making are found in most nf the counties. Over 
Sj, 000, 000 worth is quarried each year, and in addi- 
tion over half a million tlnliiirs' worth of cement i-^ 
put on the market annuall\ 

Clays for brick-making are found everywhere, in 
glacial drift, in river bottoms, and in the co;il 
measures. Very extensive brick manufactories art- 
located at Chicago, and streets arc largely paved 
with brick all over the state. Tile and terra cotla 

arc also ex- 
tensively 
manufac- 
tured wliei - 
I'Ver coal is 
al>undant 

Lead anl 
zinc a r I 
produced ill 
tlie region 
of (lali'ii;!. 




^B^.t.*",;"- f-ttt 311^ rT€T 



iliulum 0/ Citai by counties. 



s : 


1 


\ 
;. .1 fA.iM 5/000 

.'/.OkM - $tO.OiM 

■ :iio.iioo - $t»t.ooo 





l-iG. ,^3. i he viiliic •■/ miinujiuturcii pr<.<iiucls 
per square mile. 



Manufacturing. Many causes combine to make 
Illinois the richest manufacturing stiite west of the 
.\pi)alachian Mountains: the central location; the 
su])erior advantages of water trans]M)rL;ition fur- 
nisheil by the Ohio and the Mississi])pi rivers; the 
still more excellent water route to the East by way of 
the Great Lakes ; the great deposits of coal ; the prox- 
imity to the iiardw(KHl forests of the Central Slates 
and the i)ine forests of the upper lakes; the exceetling 
richness of the iron deposits of the L:ike Superior 
country; the position of Lake Michigan wliich lies 
diivctly across tlie normal east-west trend of com- 
merce, focusing land transporUition routes at the 
.southern end of the lake; the glaciated land sur- 
face, flat and rich for agricultural development and 
making easy the building of railways. (Dodge Fig. 

M ) All thesi' factors are involveil in the commercial 



i6 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 




the Great Lakes 



Fig. ,34. Shipptne; oil the Chicago Rr.ir. All the Great 

Lake ports are reached by steamers and sailing 

vessels that leave the port of Chicago. 

supremacy of the state of Illinois and in 
the phenomenal development of Chicago, 
the second largest city in America. Many 
lines of steamers on 
bring coal from the 
Pennsylvania region, 
iron from Lake Supe- 
rior, lumber from the 
upper lakes, and take 
grain to the seaboard. 
An enormous business 
is done in the seven or 
eight months during 
which navigation is 
open, but the railways 
are open ever}' day in 
the year, so the busi- 
ness they do is much 
greater. It is to its 
superior transportation 




facilities that the 
state owes its rapid development. In 1900 
there were within the state 11,058 miles of 
railway, a larger mileage than is possessed by 
any other state. 

Illinois ranks first among all the states in 
slaughtering and meat-packing; also in the 
manufacture of distilled liquors, agricultural 
implements glucose, steam railway cars, and 
bicycles. 

By far the most important industry' in the 
state is slaughtering and meat-packing, which 
in 1900 amounted to almost $288,000,000; 93 
per cent of it was done in Chicago. (Fig 26, 
Dodge Fig. 266.) Every part of the animals 



slaughtered is utilized; dependent industries 
result, with products whose value is measured 
in millions of dollars. For example, the value 
of soaps and candles made is $9,000,000; 
leather products are equally valuable. 

Good transportation assures cheap coal and 
iron ; hence the manufactures of iron and steel 
show an annual product valued at over S60,- 
000,000. About two-thirds of this is made in 
Chicago, and nearly the other third in Joliet. 
(Dodge Figs. 276 and 638.) 

The value of agricultural implements made 
in Illinois is three times that of any other 
state. The year's product in 1900 was 
worth over $42,000,000. Men's and women's 
factory-made clothing 
amoxinted to $47,000,- 
000, most of which was 
manufactured in Chi- 
cago. Railway cars 
amounted to $25,000,- 
000, Illinois leading in 
this industry. The 
state also stood second 
in the manufacture of 
books, furniture, and 
musical instruments. 

Because of the vast 
quantities of com and 
other grains produced, 
Illinois ranks first in the making of distilled 
liquors, with an annual product valued at 
about $58,000,000. The city of Peoria pro- 
duces three-sevenths of this, the largest output 



. , ( 'iigli the matiujacturing district of Chi- 

cago, l iic picture shows the bascule bridge at 13th 
Street open to allow a lake steamer to pass. 




Fig. 36. The plant oj the Elgin Xational Watch 
Company, Elgin, 111. 



Till-: C.EOGRAPHV n\- II.LlN'oIS 



17 




//, 



tant industries. The comj)lete list includes 
hundreds of separate lines, and the manu- 
facturing industries of Illinois are R-ally only 
just Itc'jjinninj; to he developed. 

Railways. AlonK with the a;,'rieultural 
and imkistrial develo|)ment of Illinois, and 
the largest factor in it. is the growth of rail- 
ways. One of tile first lines in the state 
was the Illinois Central, which was given an 
extensive land grant by Congress in 1850. 
This line is now one of the richest and strong- 
est in the country, and still pays to the state 
7 per cent of its gross incumc, Ix-in^' utlicrwise 
exeinpt from taxation. 

In i860 there were 2,790 miles (jf railway in 
the state. This mileage had grown ti > i o, 1 65 in 
1880, and to-day amounts to 11,398 miles, an 
average of twenty miles of railway for ever>' 

100 square 
miles of area, 
or twenty-five 
miles for every 
10,000 people. 
This gives Illi- 
lois first rank 
among the 
states in rail- 



lihi: IS I \nlriil R,ulr.hi,t hrtjgc iiir.>ij the 
L>liio kivcr at C'liir' 



of any city in the land. Many cities con- 
tribute to the production of malt liquors, the 
annual value of which, for the entire state, 
is $20,000,000. 
This industry 
also depends 
upon the great 
crops of corn 
and barley. 

About 20 per 
cent of the com 
crop is used ior 
manufacture 
within t h c 
state. The 
largest single 

product is glu- ' "" •'"■ '^ K«'"«TUi new l>i the lUinoti >Ud Wi'rksiU 

cose, a kind of sugar; the annual output is 
worth Si 8,000,000. From com more than 
thirty-five distinct pnnlucts are made, vary- 
ing from starch, glucose, and liquors to the 
finest of paper. 

A very large industry has grown up in the 
making of electrical apparatus and supplies, 
the value of the product passing the twelve- 
million -dollar mark. .\ few of the lesser 
industries of special prominence are barbed 
wire at Dekalb, watches at Elgin, glass at 
Ottawa, and stoves and corsets at .Aurora. 

These are only a few f>f the more impor- 




utii t Vi icago. 



way mileage. 

There are 
!iow 116 rail- 
way corpora- 
tions in the 
state. In iqoo they carried over 42,000,000 
passengers, the average journey being 24.12 
miles. In the same year nearly eight and a 
half million tons of freight were carried. 
Chicago ranks as the greatest railway center 




30. 



Thf Eads bridfe acri^ss the 
Htfer tjf £01/ >'r l^'uts. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 




CcfyntU, 1904. h K'id. McAilly &• C^'»f'"iy 



Fir,. 40 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



»9 





Fto. 42. 
csiuUlifoii. 




1 i... 41. /'i. />1<" iUiirt f/ till iM.M>.<.-j .;..-i»., 1 ; •. >iicilf;i 

in the worlil. Curiously (.'imuyli it is the posi- 
tion of Lake Michigan which is most 
responsible for the concentration of 
land transportation routes at Chicago, 
because it thrusts its 300 miles of length 
directly athwart the normal westward 
pathway of travel and commerce from 
the Mohawk \'alley. 

The ports of western Europe have 
Wvn the centers of 
the world's com 
merce througl 
all the histor\' of 
tile New Wo'rld 
This fact has led 

to the develop- Ih. 1;. a ^r^up .•; Ilu- I'mUings at llu- rnn-trsily oi I'liuag.' 

ment of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, 
our jMirts nearest Eurf)p<.-. Of these three 
cities Boston has been largely shut f)lT from 
the trade of the west by the Hoosac Moun- 
tain barrier; Thiladelphia likewise has long 
been handicapi)ed by the .\])palachian bar- 
rier. New \'ork alone has had free and un- 
hamj)ered access by way of the Mohawk 
Valley and the Great Lakes to the Hat plains 
of the West. 

The most direct route from Buffalo to El 
Paso. Tex., lies through Chicago. All the 
country west of Lake Michigan and north of 
this line finds its shortest route to the East 
through Chicago. This accounts for the 



twenty-four railways radiating like sp<ikes 
of a wheel from Chicago, and gives a new 
meaning to the device on Chicago's escutch- 
eon, "The parting of the ways." 

lincireling the city at various dist;inccs 
from the center are three so-called "lx.'It 
lines" cutting across .all the tracks of the 
twenty - four roads, and making it easy \o 
switch cars from one road tf) ani>ther without 
their going to the center of the city, thus 
avoiding eongrstion of freight. 

The Growth of Cities. The most striking 
feature in the movement of po])ulation in 
Illinois in the past twenty years lies in the 
gn >wth of cities. The agricultural ]x>pulation 
is very evenly distril)Uled over all the 
counties of the state. (Fig. 45.) But 
cities have sprung up all over the state, 
particularly wherever water jxjwer or 
coal is convenient for manufacturing, 
or where special facilities for transjior- 
tation exist. Chicago, with 1,698,575 
jxxjple, or about one-third of the pojjula- 

tion of the state, 
IS fringed with 
rajjidly growing 
suburban indus- 
trial or residenc"e 
towns of consid- 
erable size. I'ifty 
other cities outside of this area, having from 
5,000 to 50,000 jK-ople, are growing at quite 




Flo. 44. Along the Uikt jri'itl, in iwu-n-tiru-n ( nuag^' 



20 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



as rapid a rate. There are 316 cities and towns in 
the state having a population of 1,000 and over. 
In fact one-half the population of Illinois is urban, 
and the density for the state is eighty-.six people per 
square mile, whicli is more than three times the 
density for the whole country. 

The State Government. The present constitution 
of Illinois, the third it has had, was adopted in 1870. 
To amend it requires a two-thirds vote of each house 
of the legislature and a majority of the votes cast 
at a popular election. Voters must have resided in 
the state one year, in the county ninety days, and 
in the election precinct thirty days next preceding 
an election. 

The legislature consists of a Senate of fifty-one 
members, elected for four years, and a House 
of Representatives of 153 members elected for 

two years. 

Three Rep- 
resentatives 
are elected 
from each 
of the fifty- 
one sena- 
torial dis- 
tricts. Leg- 
islators re- 




Tliv rclutivr lizc of incorporated 
cilict mil vllUsci u •liown by ih« 

■lie of the circles. 




Fig. 45. The density of urban population in 
Illinois, census of igoo. 



Fig. 46 

ccive Si, 000 and mileage, and 
S50 for incidental expenses. The 
session begins at the Capitol in 
Springfield the first Wednesday 
after the first Monday in Janu- 
ary of odd-numbered years. 

The Governor, Lieuten- 
ant-Governor, Secretary, 
Auditor, Su])erintendent 
of Public Instruction, 
and Attorney-General 
are elected for four 
years. The Treas- 
urer is elected for 
two years and is 
not eligible for elec- , ^.s 

tion the next sue- ; .= ?. 

ceeding term. 



Congressional districts of Illinois, IQ04. 



Sir 



68.J 



Fig. 47. The density of popula- 
tion p^-r square mile in Illinois. 



THE (h:(k;raimiy of Illinois 



21 







1r 



iu. 



For judicial administration liic slalt- is 

dividt'd into seven dis- , — -^ 

tricts, in each of which a 
Judge of the Supreme 
Court is elected, serving 
for a term of nine years. 
Other courts, inferior and 
appellate, have been estab- 
Hslied . Tlie judges of the 
Circuit Court are elected 
for six years. Each county 
is entitled to two or more 
terms of this court each 
year. 

In each county a county 
judge, clerk of court, and 
a county attorney are 
elected for terms of four 
years, as are al.so the cor- 
oner and the sherilT. 
County business is done by a l)f)ard of super- 
visors, one from each township, though a few 
counties have commissioners instead. 

The state has twenty-five Representati\ > 
ill the National Congress. 

In 1 90 1 there were in the stale 1,001.47:! 
men of militia age, and the National (luard 
had an enrollment of 8,490 men. 

Penal Institutions. Tlierc aR- lw(» jjcni- 
leiiliarics, one at Joliet and one at Chester; a 1 ,,, 




I iiiiiniinuiit in UrnH 
Gaujfiis, in Litu 



ref<irmati)r>' at Pontiac, and a St;ite Home 
t'T Jtncnilf < XTenders at lleneva. 

State Charities. There is a Soldiers' and 
S;iil<irs' Home at Ouincy, a Soldiers' Widows' 
Home at Wilmington, a Soldiers' Orphims' 
Homeat Ncjrmal, an Industrial Home for the 
I Mind and a charitiible Eye and Ear Infirm- 
ary at Chicago, and an Asyulm for Feeble- 
.Minde<l Children at Lincoln. There is an 
Institution for the Education of Deaf and 
Dumb and an Institution for the Education 
of the Blind at Jacks<jnville. 

Asylums for the insime are kx-ated at 
Kankakee, Elgin, Watertown, Jacksonville, 
and Anna; for incurable insane at Peoria, and 
for insane criminals at Chistt r 

1 Education. In all lines 

of etlucation Illinois holds 
a very high rank. Pro- 
vision is made by the state 
for tlie free education of 
ail. and ever\' grade of 
instruction is provided. 
'I"he State University is at 
L'rl)ana. It has a lieau- 
tiful camjms, comparing 
favorably witli tlie finest 
in the world. Then- are 
eighttvn buildings, repre- 
senting a value of S.\ooo,- 
000. The library building 
is one of the finest in the 
country. The building 
and its deconitions were 
designefl by professors in 



>./« Pi, 



I.rscui.s-. 
Aunustus Saint 
trk, c7iiVagi'. 




.Ur..s.> tJu i.;ii;/ii- ,J.' .\ . r;-; 
Illy. l;:\]niU'n. 



22 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



the State University. The University consists of 
six colleges and seven schools: literature and arts, 
engineering, science, agriculture, medicine, law, 
library science, music, pharmacy, dentistn,', com- 
merce, domestic 
science, and a 
graduate school. 
There arc 305 
members in the 
facult}-, and in 
1903 there were 
enrolled 3,288 
students, about 
one-fourth of 
w h o m were 
women. This at- 
tendance puts 
the University 
among the seven 
great universities 
of the United 
States. 

The Agricultural College is partly under the super- 
vision of the general government and holds a very 
high rank in scientific research bearing on agricul- 
tural ])roV)lems. The work that this school is now 
doing promises to double or treble the value of 




Fig. 51. Tlic I.ihrary Buildini;. I'-.u'cr- 
iity I'j Illinois. Ill rrlhiiui. 




Fig. 5:!. The leading educational institutions 
of Illinois. 



THE LEADING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF ILLINOIS 



COLLEGES A.ND UNIVERSITIES 

1 Hedding College. M. E.. Abingdon. 

2 Illinois Wesleyan University. M.E., Blooni- 

ington. 

3 St. Viatcur's College. R.C Bourbonnais. 

4 Blackburn College Presb., Carlinville. 

5 CarthaKe College. Luth., Carthage. 

6 St. Ignatius College. R. C . Chicago. 

7 St Stanislaus College, R. C. Chicago. 

8 University of Chicago, Non-Sect., Chicago. 
James Millikin University. Presb., Decatur. 

10 Austin College. Xon-Sect., Effingham. 

1 1 Evangelical Proscminary, Ger. Evang. , 

Elmhurst 

12 Eureka College, Christian, Eureka. 

13 Northwestern University. M.E . Evanston. 

14 Ewing College, Bapt.. Ewing. 



15 Northemlllinois College. Non-Sect. .Fulton. 

16 Knox College, Non-Sect., Galesburg. 

17 Lombard College, Univ., Galesburg. 

I.S Greenville College, Free Mcth., Grecn\'ille. 
iq Illinois College, Non-Sect.. Jackson\'ille. 

20 Lake Forest College, Presb., Lake Forest, 

21 McKendree College, M. E., Lebanon. 

22 Lincoln College, Cl'.mb. Presb., Lincoln. 

23 Monmouth College. United Presb.. Mon- 

mouth. 

24 Northwestern College, Ev. Ass'n. Naper- 

ville, 

25 St. Bede College, R. C, Peru. 

26 St. Francis Solanus College. R. C, Quincy. 

27 Augustana College, Luth.. Rock Island, 
2S St. Joseph's College, R. C, Teutopolis. 

29 ShurtlefT College. Bapt., Upper .Mton. 

30 University of Illinois. State, Urbana, 



31 Westfield College, U. B., VVestfield, 

32 Wheaton College, Cong., Wheaton, 

SCHOOLS OF TECHNOLOGY 

3,3 Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago. 

34 Lewis Institute, Chicago, 

35 Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria. 

PUBLIC NORMAL SCHOOLS 

36 Southern Illinois State Normal University, 

Carbondale, 

37 Eastern Illinois State Normal School. 

Charleston. 

38 Chicago Normal School, Chicago. 

30 Northern Illinois State Normal School, 
Dekalb. 

40 Illinois State Normal University, Normal. 

41 Western Illinois State Normal School, 

Macomb. 



the com crop within the present generation. 
Recognizing the value of thorough educa- 
tion, Illinois has established five normal 



schools for the instruction ami training of 
teachers. The oldest is at Normal, and was 
one of the first schools of its kind in the 
L»»C.. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 



-'3 



country. Others have 
lK.t.'n huilt at CarlMin 
jlale, (."harlcston. De- 
kalb, and Maconili 
These schools jjive in- 
struction in every 
gnide from the kinder 
Rarten up. They alsc < 
admit hijjh-school 
jjraduates and give 
them two years >■• 
pnifessional tniininy, 
part of which consists 
in the actual prac- 
tice of teaching under skillful direclmn and 26,30 
.Htirism. The state contains 321 pul)lic 737,5 




Fir.. ^ !. 



illi: rii llliiii'is Siiilc 
It ( \lrb,'iidalc. 



adojited, and the 
school year has K-en 
lengthene<l until the 
average now e.\civds 
1 50 days. 

Thea- wea- in the 
state in 1900, 1.588.- 
000 pers<ins Ktween 
the ages of si.\ .iiid 
twenty-fine, the 
called school age, and 
76.0 per cent of thesi- 
XcrnuiH ,r...rsuy ^^ere in the jiuMie 
schools in charg< 

3 teachers, the average attendance bi. imj.; 

76. The daily attendance of children 




Fio. 



The Eastern Ulttu^ts State \\>rinal Sihi'^'l 
at L'harlcil^iii. 



Fto. ^t,. 



Till- X.rthirii Illinois Slate V.Tiii.i/ .S/i.'.'/ at 
DeKalh. 



high sch(K)ls and 65 private secondary schools. 

The free school system d.ites from 1855. 
There are ncnv more 
than 12.700 public 
schtxils in the st;ite. 
but more than 10,000 
of these are ungraded 
countr\' sch(X)ls. 

The schixil syster 
«)f the stiite is orga' 
ized umlcr the Stai 
Superintendent an 
county superinteni' 
cnts who inspect eai 
schiK)l. A state course 




if studv has been 



I'ic. 55. The llVs/crii Illinois State .V.ti»i<W Sclitvl at 



enrolled in llie sclvxils increased from 61 ikt 
cent in 18S0 to nearly 77 ]>er cent in njoo. 

In addition to the ]mh- 
lic school enrollment 
there were 142.41)0 
children in private 
sch(X)ls. Prima r\ ed- 
ucation is compulsory 
betwi-en the ages of 
six and fourteen 

The .innual i-ost of 
the ]niblie schools and 
educational institu- 
tions to the state in 
recent ye;irs has been 
.ibout $20.000. 000, 



24 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS 





Fig. 57. Main buildins, the Illinois State Xormal 
University at .Xormal. 

partly canceled by the incume from a perma- 
nent school fund that now amounts to nearly 
$18,000,000. 

In addition to the state schools there are 
tlnrty-one schools classed as colleges and uni- 
versities in Illinois, which are well distributed 
over the whole area of the state. i\Iany of 
these institutions of higher learning were es- 
tablished by the early pioneers 
of the last cen ^^/^ tury, and have 
.been continual ^^^^ factors in uplifting 
e d u c a t i o n. M^^m ^' 'i^it- of the largest 
of these uni ||HNW versities have 
world-wide Hft ' fame, as the Uni- 



versity of Chicago at Chicago and Northwest- 
em University at Evanston. (Figs. 43 and 50.) 

Technological schools known for special 
excellence are the Armour Institute of Tech- 
nology and Lewis Institute, situated at 
Chicago, and the Bradley Polytechnic Insti- 
tute at Peoria. 

As a result of all this educational activity 
the state has an illiteracy record of only 4.2 
per cent of the population of ten years of 
age or over. This places Illinois near the 
head of the list of states having Httle illiteracy, 
the average for the whole countr}' being 10.7 
per cent. 



:^aAi 


— 






f 








^ 


Mi 


m ^ 




^■y'^-^'i 


i 




Mi^ 


I- 










1 


■ » 


. 1 
MiKij 


- — 




-. 


.■•.-. 


■IF 






K 



Fir,. 50. Loi>king up the beautijid Lake Shore Drive, 
Chicago. 

Table showing the rank of the leading manufacturing 

cities of Illinois. 

Twelfth census oj the United States, Vol. VII J. 



"k-.. 5S. (jiiiiral Grant Monumenl, by Lotus T. y\'i";> 
ill Lincoln Park. 



" 


' 


V.ILUE OF 




PERCENT- 
AGE OP 


\< A N K 


CITY 


ANNUAL 
MANUFAC- 
TURES 


LARGEST ISni'STRV 


TOTAL 
MANU- 
FACTURES 
OP CITY 


I 


Chicago 


$888,945,311 


SlauKhtering and meat 




2 


Peoria 


48.871,596 


Distilled liquors 


54 


3 


East St. Louis 


,13..S.'i0.6ll 


Foundry and machine 
shop products 


4 


4 


loliet 


27,786.104 


Iron and steel 


40 




Rockford 

Penin 

Moline 

Quincy 


12.580.1 16 
12,268.021 
10,000 282 

9,334.988 






6 

7 
S 










Foundry and machine 










shop products 


17 





Aurora 


7.370.029 


Foundry and machine 
shop products 


24 


10 


Elgin 


7,161.637 


Cheese, butter, con- 
densed milk 


13 


II 


Springfield . . . 
Decatur 


(i 61 2 2,S6 






3,896,492 


Flouring and grist mill 










products 


34 



A cA/i.T'ii: i:k OF riii-: ( i rii;s oi ii i.ixois 



More than ono-half of the pe<iple of Illinois rc-sidc in incorporatod cities and towns of 
4,000 jxjpulation or over. In kjoo thiTi- were sixty-six such jilaces in the sUite, all prosper- 
ous an<l ^jmwinjj. The larjje number and flourishing condition of these centers of activity 
arc the natural results of: (i) the unusual fertihty of the soil and the Lirgc percentage of 
the tot;il area adapted to cultivation, two reasons for the enormous crops of com, oats, 
hay, and fruits, which furnish great quantities of ffXKl pnulucts and support vast numlK'rs 
of cattle, hogs, and h<)rses (l)odgc Figs. 250. 251, 25^. 25(). 260. 262, 26^, 265, 267. 268, 260, 
270, an<l 271); (2) the even surface which offers unusual advantages for building railways 
and common roads, giving the state, when built, highly eflicient transjxjrtiition service, 
and thus affording the ]>eople the best advantages for marketing their jjroducts; (3) the 
widesi)read and valuable dejKJsits of coal, clay, sand, an<l building stone, which invite diver- 
sifieil manufacturing interests in nearly all the cities; and (4) the character of the people, 
who have come largely fn)m the eastern states and northern I">unjpe, and are the pick of 
energetic populations. 

In the gazetteer which here follows the population of each city. town, and village is given 
in parentheses following the name of the place, all of the population figures being taken from 
the Twelfth Census of the L'nited States. 



Alton (14.210), a handsome city in Madison 
founty, on a limestone MulT 200 feet above the 
Mississippi River, eight miles above the mouth 
of the Missouri, and twenty-five miles nortli of 
St. Louis, Mo., is tlie market for several counties 
and has excellent advantages for industry and 
trade. \'alual)le limestone is iiuarried in the 
vicinity, and coal is conveniently near. Tlie 
town has flour mills, glass factories, the largest 
glass-bottle factory in the country, brickyards, 
limekilns, machine s]io])s. siioe factories, and 
powder mills, and manufactures farm machinery, 
wagons, and carriages. Large (juantities of fruit 
are shi]>peti. Four railways center here. In 
Upper Alton, a suburb, is Shurtlefl College. .1 
coeducational institution founded in iS^6. 

Aurora (24.147). situated in the southeastern 
part of Kane County, thirty-seven miles south- 
west of Chicago on the Ff)X River, is in the most 
]jroductive agricultural district in the state. 
(Fig. 2.) Kendall. Kane. Dekalb. Will, and 
Dupage counties are largely tributary, commcr- 
tially. It is connected with Chicago l>v tlircf 
steam railroads and an electric railroad 

The city is on a belt line railway, reaching from 
\'ali«iraiso. Ind..to Waukegan. III., and crossing 
ever>* line entering Chicago, thus making it con- 
venient to transslii]) from one roa<l to another 
willidul .iddiiu' In till' convjfslion (if frcii,'ht in 



Chicago. Tins gives Aurora a great commercial 
advantage, and as a result varied and extensive 
manufactures have been established. The river 
furnishes a large water power used in the facto- 
ries. Tiic manufactures include a stove factory 
said to be the largest in the world, foundries, 
machine shops, (lour, woolen, and cotton mills, 
factories for tlie manufacture of carriages, wag- 
ons, sash, doors, and blinds, road-making ma- 
chinery, paint, i)ianos. corsets, watch and bicycle 
materials, and silverware. Here are repair shops 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway. 
The city owns and operates its gas and electric 
plants and its water works. 

Beardstown (4,827), Cass County, on the Illi- 
nois Kivcr, 1 1 2 miles north of St. Louis, Mo., and 
forty-six miles nort Invest of Springlieid. III., 
has railroad repair shops, saw mills, a barrel, 
stave, and heading factory, shoe and button 
factories. Hour mills, and breweries. It is in a 
fine .agricultural region and the river affords 
vahi;iblc (isliing. 

Belleville (17.4.S4). one of the leading cities of 
southern Illinois and the county seat of St. Clair 
County, is located fourteen miles southeast of 
.St. Louis, with wiiicli It is connecletl by trt>lley. 
Coal from the extensive fields near by is delivered 
to the factories at less than a dollar a ton. This 
results in extensive maiuifact urine It lias more 



26 



A GAZETTEER OF THE CITIES OF ILLINOIS 



than loo factories manufacturing wrought iron, 
steel nails, tacks, stoves, and farm machinery. 
There are also extensive flour mills, breweries, 
distilleries, brickyards, and glass works. 

Belvidere (6,937), the county seat of Boone 
County, on the Kishwaukee River, seventy-five 
miles northwest of Chicago, manufactures sew- 
ing machines, corsets, heaters, canned goods, 
and condensed milk. The dairy product is large. 

Bloomington (23,286), the county seat of 
McLean County, 1 26 miles southwest of Chicago, 
is an important railway center. Coal is mined 
in the vicinity. Here are construction and repair 
shops of the Chicago & Alton Railway. Stoves, 
foundry products, trunks and valises, flour, fur- 
niture, sash, doors, and blinds are among the im- 
portant manufactures. The city is in the heart 
of a rich agricultural region ; in its vicinity is the 
largest nursery in the West. The breeding of 
fine cattle and horses is carried on in this region. 
Illinois Wesleyan University (M. E.) was estab- 
lished here in 1850. The Illinois State Normal 
University and the Soldiers' Orphans' Home are 
.at Normal, two miles north. (Fig. 57.) 

Blue Island (6,114), Cook County, sotith of 
Chicago, on the Calumet River, has three great 
railroads passing through it. There are quarries 
of limestone for building, large brickyards, some 
brewing and some smelting of copper ore. 

Cairo (12,566), the county seat of Alexander 
Count V, is in the southern extremity of the state, 
at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, 
151 miles below St. Louis, 365 miles south of 
Chicago, and 547 miles from New Orleans. 
While it owed its early growth to the river traffic, 
which is still important, it has become a leading 
railroad center. The Ohio River is here crossed 
by a steel bridge built in 1888 at a cost of 
83,000,000. (Fig. 37.) The town is protected 
by a levee, built at great expense. It is an 
important market for lumber, grain, and fruit; 
has flour mills, a sewing-machine factory, foun- 
dries, machine shops, and extensive wood- 
working and bottling establishments. 

Canton (6,564), Fulton County, thirty miles 
southwest of Peoria, has large coal mines in the 
vicinity. Wood is abundant. Its manufactures 
include agricultural implements, foundry prod- 
ucts, tile, paving brick, cigars, and cigar boxes. 



Carbondale (3,318), Jackson County, ninety- 
five miles southeast of St. Louis, Mo., is the cen- 
ter of an important coal-mining district. The 
Southern Illinois State Normal University is 
located here. (Fig. 53.) 

Centralia (6,721), Marion County, sixty miles 
east of St. Louis, Mo., is directly over extensive 
coal mines supplying cheap fuel to local factories. 
It manufactures envelopes, mining tools, and 
fruit boxes, and much fruit, raised in the vicinity, 
is shipped, especially large quantities of peaches, 
strawberries, and apples. Its railway facilities 
are excellent. The Illinois Central Railway has 
machine shops here. 

Champaign (g.ogS), Champaign County. 128 
miles southwest of Chicago, is situated in an 
extremely fertile farming region. It has manu- 
factures of wagons, brick and tile, twine, and 
iron and steel goods. 

Charleston (5,488), the county seat of Coles 
County, IS in the midst of a rich farming region. 
It is the leading broom-corn market of the United 
States. Brooms, carriages, woolens, stoves, and 
tile are the chief manufactures. The Eastern 
Illinois State Normal School is here. (Fig. 54 ) 

Chicago (1,698,575), located near the head of 
Lake Michigan, was first visited by fur traders 
in 1654. In 1795 the Indians ceded a tract six 
miles square to the Government, and in 1803 
Fort Dearborn was built. The first white set- 
tler was John Kinzie. a French Canadian, who 
made his home here in 1804. In 181 2 the fort' 
was burned by the Indians, and all the inhabi- 
tants, numbering about fifty, were massacred. 
In 18 16 the fort was rebuilt, and a town sprang 
up which was incorporated as a city in 1837 
with a po])ulation of about 4.000. Since that 
time Chicago has had a phenomenal growth, now 
ranking as the second largest city in the United 
States and the fifth city in size in the world. 

Chicago is a natural outgrowtli of the advan- 
tages of its position and of the resources which 
focus here. In the early history of the West the 
Great Lakes were the best highway to and from 
the East, and Chicago was the port where water 
transportation reached farthest into the heart of 
the rich agricultural plains. These advantages 
are still powerful factors in giving Chicago its 
supremacy. But even more important to-day is 



A C.AZETTHHR OP Till-: CITIKS OF ILLINOIS 



the fact that Lake Michigan lies directly across 
llie east and west hues of travel, forcinj; all east 
and west land trathc in the northern part of the 
United States to concentrate at the head of the 
lake. As that part of the country is most densely 
populated and since most of our tratVic is along 
cast and west lines, nearly one-half the area of 
the United States is tnhutary to Chicago. 

When railways came, the level plains of the 
Middle West offered the easiest possible condi- 
tions for building; few grades and curves were 
necessary, and no expensive construction was 
rc(iuired. Consetjuently the fertile prairies were 
rapidly covered with a network of steel road- 
ways leading to Chicago, which has become the 
largest railway center in the world. The two 
factors, rapid transportation by land and cheap 
transportation by water, have given Chicago 
enormous advantages as a distributing center. 

These advantages, position and transporta- 
tion, have brought the coal fields of the state to 
the manufactories in the city, and the cheap 
water transportation of the lakes has brought 
the fields of Pennsylvania and Ohio almost as 
near. The timber and iron of the North have 
met the coal of the South and the East at the 
factory doors of Chicago, and a great variety and 
a vast (juantity of manufactured products result. 
The unusually fertile agricultural regions lying 
immediately tributary to Chicago have millions 
of fann animals, which find a ready market each 
year at this great industrial center. 

The city lies on an almost perfectly level plain, 
which was formerly the bed of the larger Lake 
Michigan. The streets arc laitl out in regular 
-•luares, running with the compass. There are 
.'.4i6 miles of streets. 86S miles of which are 
paved. The city water supply is taken from the 
Lake, intake tunnels extending from two to four 
miles out to the cribs where the pumping engines 
are placed. At the shore end of the intake tun- 
nels are great pumping stations which furnish 
the jiressure necessary to the city service. 
There are 480.000,000 gallons of water ])umj)e(l 
into the city mains every day. Formerly the 
sewage of the city was discharged into the Lake, 
but as this endangered the city's water supjily. 
a great drainage canal was planned which was 
completed in iqoo, at a cost of Sj.? ,000.000. 



This canal reverses the flow of the Chicago River. 
and takes joo.ooo cubic feet of water per minute 
from Lake Michigan, thus carrying the sewage 
of Chicago into the Des Plaines River, and so 
down the Illinois into the Mississippi. This, the 
largest sanitary engineering feat ever attempted, 
was completely successful. The canal is avail- 
able for navigation to Lockport, a distance of 
twenty-eight miles. 

There is a wide variety of manufactures in the 
city, but slaughtering and packing are far in the 
lead with products valued at over $250,000,000 
a year, which is nearly one-third the value of the 
city's manufactures. (Fig. 26.) Next in impor- 
tance come foundry and machine-shop products 
and iron and steel. (Fig. 38.) The steel indus- 
tries are largely centered at South Chicago. In 
ready-made clothing the city ranks next to New 
York ; although its output is now worth a million 
dollars a week, the industry is increasing rapidly 
Chicago leads the world in the manufacture of 
farm machinery, particularly harvesting ma- 
chines, and more than one-half of the world's 
binder twine is made here. It ranks first in 
America in slaughtering and meat-packing, in 
foundry and machine-shop products, and cars; 
second in men's clothing, malt li(iuors. news- 
paper and book printing, lumber products, in- 
cluding sash, doors, and blinds, and furniture. 

Chicago covers an area of about 190 square 
miles and has a water front on Lake Michigan 
of about twenty-five miles. The Chicago River, 
since the completion of the drainage canal an out - 
let of the Lake, has a frontage of sixty miles in 
the city, more than one-third of which is avail- 
able for wharfage. (Figs. 23 and 34.) The river 
is crossed by many briiiges, the most interesting 
of which are the rolling lift or bascule bridges, 
which open like a jackknife to leave the channel 
dear (Fig. 35); the cable cars pass under the 
river through tunnels. The harbor, formed by 
an artificial breakwater, has an area of about 
450 acres and a depth of sixteen feet. 

Chicago is .second only to New York in the 
large number, the size, and the extreme height 
of ortice buildings, the so-called sky scrajiers. 
which originated here. The frame work of the 
buildings is planted upon steel encased in 
concrete. The tallest of these is the M .^.."i. 



28 



A GAZETTEER OF THE CITIES OF ILLINOIS 



Temple, twenty-one stories in height ; the largest 
is tlie Auditorium, which contains a great hotel 
and one of the largest theaters in the world. 

The city is justly famous for its parks, which 
have an area of more than 2,200 acres and are 
connected by boulevards. The parks and boule- 
vards form a nearly complete chain around the 
heart of the city, providing about sixty-six miles 
of driveway within the city limits. (Fig. 59.) 
Some of the finest sculpture in the world adorns 
these parks, notably the statue of Lincoln by St. 
Gaudens and the Grant monument by Rebisso. 
(Figs. 49 and 58.) 

Chicago Heights (5,100), Cook County, is a 
manufacturing suburb of Chicago, twenty-five 
miles south of the city, on a slightly rolling gla- 
cial moraine. It is on a belt railway, which 
crosses all railroads entering Chicago and gives 
Chicago Heights excellent advantages in han- 
dling freight. The manufactures include iron and 
steel goods, railway cars, locomotives, railway 
supplies, machinery, wagons, building materials, 
pianos and organs, chemicals, school supplies, 
and glassware. 

Clinton (4,452), the county seat of Dewitt 
County, is twenty-two miles south of Blooming- 
ton, on the Illinois Central Railroad. It has 
railway repair shops and varied industries. 

Collinsville (4,021), Madison County, is twelve 
miles northeast of St. Louis, Mo., with which it 
is connected by trolley. There are coal mines, 
brickkilns, zinc smelters, and lead works nearby. 

Danville (16,354), the county seat of Vermilion 
County, is on the Vermilion River, 124 miles 
south of Chicago. Coal is mined extensively near 
by. The Kellyville field near the city puts out 
more than a million and a half tons a year. The 
river furnishes water power The machine shops 
of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad are 
here. The city has extensive manufactures of 
iron, galvanized iron, wagons, brick, woolens, 
flour, hominy, and beer. It lies in the richest part 
of the corn belt, three adjacent counties produc- 
ing more than 50,000,000 bushels of corn per year. 
(Fig. 20.) Here is a National Soldiers' Home. 

Decatur (20,754), the county seat of Macon 
County, on the north bank of the Sangamon 
River, thirty-nine miles east of S])ringfield, is 
an important railway center. It is in the midst 



of a rich farming area. There are two coal mines 
in the city. It manufactures engines, farm im- 
plements, iron bridges, tile, brick, artificial stone, 
coffins, carriages, furniture, plumbing goods, gas 
and electric fixtures, mantles, soda fountains, 
clothing, bagging, beer, flour, and com products. 
It is the site of James Milliken University. 

Dekalb (5,904), Dekalb County, fifty-eight 
miles west of Chicago, is in a rich farming and 
dairying region (Figs. 28 and 29) with good trans- 
portation facilities. Its wire fence industry is one 
of the largest in America. Other manufactures 
include farm implements, nails, shoes, gloves, 
pianos, flour, cheese, and butter. It is the seat of 
the Northern Illinois State Normal School. 
(Fig. 56.) 

Dixon (7,917), the county seat of Lee County, 
is on the Rock River, ninety-eight miles west of 
Chicago, in a region famous for dairy products. 
Its condensed milk factory is the largest in the 
world. The river yields 5,000 horse power, the 
dam giving slack water for twelve miles back. 
The manufactures include foundry and wire 
products, plows, wooden ware, wagons, boots and 
shoes, boxes, and condensed milk. A private 
normal and training school located here is well 
and favorably known. 

Duquoin (4,353), Perry County, seventy-one 
miles southeast of St. Louis, Mo., has twelve 
companies that mine coal near by, and an exten- 
sive salt-making plant. It also has iron and 
pump works, veneer factories, and an ice plant;. 

East St. Louis (29,655), St. Clair County, on 
the Mississippi River opposite St. Louis, Mo., 
is the focus of twelve railways which cross the 
river here on great steel bridges. (Fig. 39.) The 
manufactures include malleable iron, rolling mill 
and foundry products, bolts and nuts, nails, cars, 
glass, chemicals, white lead, castor oil, syrup, 
paint, barrels, flour, and beer. Here is one rf 
the largest stock yards in America, with exten- 
sive slaughtering and meat-packing interests. 

Edwardsville (4,157), the county seat of Madi- 
son County, twenty miles northeast of St. Louis, 
Mo., is largely engaged in coal mining. The 
manufactures include brick, carriages, plumbers' 
goods, plows, and flour. 

Elgin (22,433), Kane County, on Fox River 
thirty-live miles northwest of Chicago, is in the 



A GAZETTEKR OF THE CITIES t)F ILLINOIS 



29 



richest dain'inR region in America. It is the lead- 
ing butter-producing city of the United States, 
and has large condensed milk factories. Exten- 
sive water power is furnished by the river. The 
city is world-renowned for its watches. Other 
manufactures are foundry and machine-shop 
products, windmills, silver plate, soap, boots and 
shoes, butter tubs, liquors, pipe organs, flour, 
books, and periodicals. (Fig. 36.) The N'orth- 
ern Hospital for the Insane is here. 

Evanston (19,259), Cook County, on Lake 
Michigan, joins Chicago on the north and is one 
of the most attractive residence centers adjacent 
to that city. It is widely known for its excellent 
schools and especially as the scat of N'orthwest- 
em University, founded in 1S54, the most famous 
Methodist Episcopal College in the country. 
(Fig. 50.) The sale of liquors is prohibited 
within four miles of the University. It is one 
of tlie most orderly cities in the United States. 

Freeport (13,258), the county seat of Stephen- 
son County, is located on the Pecatonica River, 
125 miles northwest of Chicago. It manufac- 
tures wagons, hardware, windmills, pumps,boots, 
shoes, musical instruments, and canned goods. 

Galena (5.005), the county seat of Jo Daviess 
County, seventeen miles southeast of Dubuque, 
Iowa, has a picturesque location on the Galena 
River, six miles from the Mississippi. The 
town is built upon the blufT which drops down 
in terraces to the Galena River. The Mississippi 
River steamboats ascend the Galena to this 
point. The i)lace was settled early, and its 
histon.' is closely connected with the production 
of lead, its name, in fact, being that of the ore 
mined in the limestone bluffs in the vicinity. 
There are manufactures of lead and zinc, wooden 
ware, furniture, and boots and shoes. 

Galesburg (18,607), the county seat of Knox 
County, is in the midst of fertile prairies. The 
abundant coal in the vicinity invites manufac- 
turing. The leading j)ro<lucts are paving brick, 
brooms, typewriters, com planters, and other 
machinery. Its railway facilities are excellent. 
Hero are re()air shops of the Chicago, Burlington 
& Quincy Railway. The town is an educational 
center, having two old established colleges, Lom- 
baril College (Univ.), founded in 1852, and Knox 
College (non-sect.), founded in 1837. 



Harlem (4,085), Cook County, joins Chicago 
on the west. It is a residence rather than an 
industrial town, but it has no separate city or 
village government, forming a part of the town- 
ship of Proviso. 

Harvey (5,395), Cook County, twenty miles 
south of Chicago, is an important manufacturing 
suburb. It is a new town of raj)id growth, well 
jilanned, with a residence district separate from 
the factories. There are extensive manufac- 
tures of railroad supplies, machinery', stoves, 
engines, foundry jjroducts, and artificial stone. 

Jacksonville (15.078), the county seat of Mor- 
gan County, is located on a fertile prairie, ninety 
miles north of St. Louis, Mo. It has excellent 
railway facilities and manufactures boilers, tile, 
brick, and woolens. The city is best known as 
an educational center. It is the seat of Illinois 
College, Illinois Woman's College, a Conserva- 
tory of Music, state schools for the deaf, dumb, 
and blind, and the Illinois State Central Hospi- 
tal for the Insane. The city is well built and 
the streets are shaded by fine elm and majile 
trees. 

Joliet (29,353), the county seat of Will County. 
is on the Des Plaines River, thirty-seven miles 
southwest of Chicago. The river furnishes a 
large water power. Limestone in the vicinity, 
valuable as building material, is quarried ex- 
tensively. The railway facilities are of the best. 
Here is one of the largest steel plants in the 
country and extensive rolling mills. The manu- 
factures include iron and steel products, wocnlen 
ware, marble and stone products, brick, tile, 
farming im])lements, wire products, boots ami 
shoes, flour, breakfast foods, beer, and jiaints. 
The State Penitentiary, a magnificent structure 
of local stone, costing nearly a million dollars, is 
located here. The city has .1 number of i>arks 
and jilavgrounds. Electric cars run to Chicago. 

Kankakee (13,595), the county seat of Kan- 
kakee County, on the Kankakee River, is tifty-six 
miles south of Chicago. It lies in a wide plain 
or lowland, formerly the bed of one of the great 
glacial lakes. The soil of this fertile lowland is 
now largely <lrained anil reclaimeil for agricul- 
ture. The railway facilities are excellent. Near 
by is an almost inexhaustible supply of limestone 
suitable for building. The river is navigable for 



3° 



A GAZETTEER OF THE CITIES OF ILLINOIS 



small boats. The manufactures include carriages 
plows, nails, furniture, musical instruments, sew- 
ing machines, brick, tile, and flour. Here is the 
Eastern Illinois Hospital for the Insane. The 
buildings cost 82,000.000 and liouse over 2,000 
patients. 

Kewanee (8,382), in Henry County, 132 miles 
southwest of Chicago, is in a productive farm- 
ing region. The manufactures include tubing, 
boilers, steam heaters, farming machinery, gloves. 
mittens, and brick and tile. 

La Salle (10,446), La Salle County, ninety-nine 
miles southwest of Chicago, is beautifully situ- 
ated on the north bank of the Illinois River, 
along a series of terraces rising from the stream 
to the plain 250 feet above. Steamboats ascend 
the river to this point. The blulTs furnish fine 
building stone and sandstone for the manufac- 
ture of glass. Coal mines underlie the city. 
This affords exceptional advantages for the 
manufacture of Portland cement, pressed brick, 
sheet zinc, spelter, sulphuric acid, and clocks. 

Lincoln (8,962), the county seat of Logan 
Countv, twenty-nine miles northeast of Spring- 
field, is in a rich farming region underlaid 
with coal. The manufactures are rolling-mill 
products, caskets, horse collars, and mattresses. 
Lincoln College (Cumb. Presb.), the State Insti- 
tution for Feeble-Minded Children, and the Odd 
Fellows' Orphans' Home are located here. 

Litchfield (5,918), Montgomery County, fifty 
miles northeast of St. Louis, Mo., is in a fertile, 
undulating prairie where coal and oil are found. 
Machinery, cars, engines, radiators, flour, and 
glassware are manufactured. 

Macomb (5,375), the county seat of McDon- 
ough County, manufactures pottery, brick, tiles, 
drain pipe, and castings. The Western Illinois 
State Normal School is here. (Fig. 55.) 

Mattoon (9,622), Coles County, at the inter- 
section of three railway lines, has extensive rail- 
way repair shops, and manufactures engines, 
pumps, brooms, brick and tile. It is in the 
richest broom-corn area in the country and ships 
large r]uantities of the brush. 

Maywood (4,532), Cook County, on the Des 
Plaines River, ten miles west of Chicago, has 
extensive tin-can factories. 

Metropolis (4,069), the county seat of Massac 



County, forty miles above Cairo, on the Ohio 
River, manufactures brick, pottery, lumber 
products, plow handles, staves, headings, boats, 
wagon materials, and flour. It has well-paved 
streets above the highest floods. 

Molina (17,248), Rock Island County, is situ- 
ated on the south bank of the Mississippi River, 
and joins the city of Rock Island on the west. 
A narrow channel separating Moline from the 
island of Rock Island, furnishes fine water power, 
used jointly by Moline and the United States 
Government. The Government has a great 
arsenal and a small-arms factory on the Island. 
Four railwavs converge here, and the Mississippi 
River is bridged at this point. An almost inex- 
haustible supply of coal is found in the adjacent 
hills. With matchless transportation facilities 
bv river and by rail, and abundant fuel close at 
hand, extensive manufacturing naturally results. 
Agricultural implements, including plows and 
corn planters, with wagons, pumps, and gasoline 
engines, are the leading manufactures; others are 
rolling-mill, machine-sliop, and foundry products 
brick and tile, organs, pianos, scales, furniture, 
paper, and dressed lumber. The town is public 
spirited and progressive, and its natural advan- 
tages fully justify a belief in its future greatness. 

Monmouth (7,460), the county seat of Warren 
County, lies in a prairie region of great fertility. 
Coal is mined near by. The manufactures 
include pottery, sewer pipe, brick, machinery, 
hardware, plows, and cultivators. Monmouth 
College (United Presb.) is located here. 

Morris (4,273), the county seat of Grundy 
County, is situated on the Illinois River sixty- 
two miles southwest of Cliicago. The manufac- 
tures include brick and tile, hardware, straw- 
board, leather, and rolled oats. On Mazon 
Creek, near by, are the famous beds of carbon- 
iferous fossil ferns and insects. 

Mount Carmel (4,311), the county seat of 
Waba.sh County, on the Wabash River, at the 
mouth of the White, has abundant water power. 
Here are repair shops of the Big Four Route. 
The manufactures include dressed lumber, furni- 
ture, wooden ware, strawboard, and flour. 

Mount Vernon (5,216), the county seat of 
Jefferson County, manufactures railway cars 
brick and tile, flour, and railway ties which are 



A tlAZETTHKR OF TIIK CITIKS ol- ILLINOIS 



preserved by a chemical process. Fruits are 
g^own. and coal is mined in the vicinity 

Murphysboro (6,463), county seat of Jackson 
County, is on the Big Mud<ly River, fifty-seven 
miles north of Cairo. Coal is mmed near by. It 
has railway machine shops, brickyards, a cooper- 
age plant, a brewery, and flour mills. Much 
fruit IS raised, canned, anil shipped in tins region. 

Oak Park ( 1 2.000). Cook County, joins Chicago 
on the west and is closely connected by railroads 
with the business center of that city. It is a 
very attractive residence village and is one of 
the oldest settlements around Chicago. Previ- 
ous to the adoption of its present name, it was 
known successively as Kettlcstring's Orove, 
Oak Ridge. Harlem, and Xoyesville. 

OIney (4.260). tiie county seat of Richland 
County, manufactures brick, tile, and flour. 
Much fruit is raised near by. Here is a cold- 
storage ])lant; canning is an imjiortant industry. 

Ottawa (10,588). the county .seat of La Salle 
County, at the junction of the Fox and the Illi- 
nois rivers, eighty-four miles .southwest of Chi- 
cago, has excellent water power. Coal is mined 
near by and sandstone is quarried and used 
largely in glass factories. Good clay and shale 
invite the manufacture of pottery, terra cotta, 
• Irain tile, and brick. Among other manufac- 
tures are agricultural implements, wagons, car- 
riages, and musical instruments. 

Pana (5. 530), Christian County, forty-two miles 
southeast of Springfield, is in a ricli stock-raising 
region, and is a leading coal-mining center. 

Paris (6,105). the county seat of EdgarCountv, 
is an agricultural center. It has manufactures 
of brooms, street cars, and glass, and ships large 
<]u.intiiies of broom-corn brush. 

Pekin (8.420), the county seat of Tazewell 
County, is located on the Illinois River, ten milts 
south of Peoria. It is the focus of seven railways. 
Coal is extensively mined, some mines being 
within the city limits. The city has two large 
distilleries, and manufactures wagons, plows, 
reai)crs, barrels, glucose, starch, and chemicals. 

Peoria (56,100), the county seat of Peoria 
County, on the west bank of the Illinois River. 
160 miles southwest of Chicago, has, next t<> 
Chicago, the best railway service in the state, 
and also has steamboat lines to St. Louis. The 



tributary country is underlaid with coal and is 
the richest corn-i>ro<lucing area in the worhi. 
While Peoria is a great live-stock and grain 
market, it is best known for its manufacture of 
secondary products of corn. Its elevators hold 
millions of bushels. Its distilleries are the 
largest in the worhl ; the internal revenue col- 
lected from them amounts to more than $25,- 
000,000 a year. Large factories make starch, 
gluiosc, breakfast fcKwIs. and a score of other 
products from corn. The manufacture of spirits 
invites the manufacture of drugs and chemicals. 
Coal and sliale lead to the production of jtottery. 
brick, and tile. Agricultural implements, foun- 
dry and machine-shop products, strawboard, 
l)a])cr. cordage, and flour are produced. Brailley 
Polytechnic Institute takes its name from a 
public-spirited citizen who gave a large part of 
her fortune to endow this school for the technical 
training of youth. Mere is the State .\s\liitii 
for the Incurable Insane. 

Peru (6.863), La Salle County. 100 miles soutli- 
west of Chicago, is on the north bank of the Illi- 
nois River, at the head of navigation, and has 
regular lines of steamboats to St. Louis. C<?al is 
mined largely in the vicinity. The manufactures 
include zinc, plows, wheels, agricultural imjjle- 
ments, gasoline engines, clocks, beer, pumps, 
boilers, scales, and fertilizers Hitc is St Mi'de 
College (R. C). 

Pontiac (4,266), the county scat ul LiMiig.sion 
County, is on the Vermilion River, ninety-three 
miles southwest of Chicago. It manufactures 
shoes, lounges, candy, and boxes. The Illinois 
St.itc Reformatory for Juvenile OlTenders is here. 

Princeton (4,023), the county seat of Bureau 
County, 105 miles southwest of Chicago, is in a 
rich fanning and coal-mining region. Carriages, 
brick, and tile are manufactured, but the mer- 
cantile interests are chiefly connected with but- 
ter, cheese, fruit, and flour. Xear by are exten- 
sive nurseries. The farmers are engaged largely 
in the breeding of fine stock. 

Quincy (36.252), the county seat of Adams 
County, on the Mississippi, has fine transporta- 
tion both by railway and river. The region round- 
about is rich in coal and building stone anil pro- 
duces much fruit. The manufactures include 
stoves, farm machinery, machine-shop products. 



AUG f4 1905 



32 



A GAZETTEER OF THE CITIES OF ILLINOIS 



carriages and wagons, pumps, wire work incuba- 
tors, egg cases, boxes, trunks, refrigerators, sash, 
doors, and blinds, show cases, furniture, organs, 
soap, beer, harness, paper, strawboard, and to- 
bacco. A State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home is 
located here. It is the seat of St Francis Solanus 
College (R. C). 

Rockford (;? 1,051), the county seat of Winne- 
bago County, eighty-seven miles west of Chicago, 
on Rock River, is in the midst of a rich farming 
region and has excellent transportation facilities. 
The manufactures include machinery, farming 
implements, gas stoves, furniture, wooden ware, 
watches, fiour, hosiery, gloves, mittens, paper, 
and beer. Here is Rockford College, a school for 
women. 

Rock Island (19,493), the county seat of Rock 
Island County, is situated on the Mississippi 
River, opposite Davenport, Iowa. The river is 
spanned here by a double-decked steel bridge for 
both railways and carriages, erected by the Fed- 
eral Crovernment at a cost of $1,300,000. The 
island of Rock Island, separated from the city by 
a narrow channel of the river, is occupied by the 
Government Armory and Arsenal, the largest in 
the country. It occupies ten massive stone 
buildings and cost more than $10,000,000. Coal 
is mined near by, and there is unlimited limestone 
for building purposes. The manufactiires in- 
clude brick, stoves, carriages, farm machinery, 
sash, doors, and blinds, lumber, soap, and beer. 
It is the site of Augustana College (Luth.). 

Springfield (34,159), the capital of Illinois and 
the county seat of Sangamon County, is situated 
185 miles southwest of Chicago. It was settled 
in 1819 and became the capital in 1837. It is 
laid out regularly, witli the public square and 
courthouse in the center. The State Capitol 
is one of the finest buildings in the West and 
cost more than $5,000,000. (Fig. 48.) The city 
is surrounded by fertile prairies underlaid with 
coal the annual output of the mines reaching 
nearly two and one-h;ilf million tons. Rolling- 
mill products, agricultural implements, engines, 
boilers, lumber products, (lour shoes, and pav- 
ing brick are among the manufactures. The 
city is the greatest live-stock center in America. 
It is the headquarters of ten national live-stock 
associations. The State Fair is permanently 



located here. Springfield was the home of 
Abraham Lincoln and contains a beautiful monu- 
ment to his memory. It was erected at a cost of 
more than $200,000 by popular subscriptions 
from the citizens of various states. 

Spring Valley (6,214), Bureau County, is a 
railway center and one of the leading coal-mining 
towns of the West. 

Sterling (6,309), Whiteside County, is finely 
located on the north liank of the Rock River. 
The river furnishes abundant water power 
for manufactures of agricultural implements, 
engines, pumps, hearses, coffins, and paper. 

Streator (14,079), La Salle Countv, on the 
Vermilion River, ninetv-six miles southwest of 
Chicago, is in the center of the Vermilion coal 
fields. A fine grade of steam coal is mined exten- 
sively. Foundry and machine-shop products, 
glass, brick, and tile are manufactured. There is 
a park of thirteen acres in the center of the town. 

Taylorville (4,2481. the county seat of Chris- 
tian County, is on the south fork of the Sanga- 
mon, twenty-six miles southeast of Springfield, 
in the same rich prairie region. The live-stock 
industry is important in the vicinity. It has an 
almost inexhaustible coal supply owned and 
mined by home capital. The chief manufactures 
are paper, books, periodicals, brick, and tile. 

Urbana (5,728), the county seat of Champaign 
County, 128 miles south of Chicago, joins the 
city of Champaign on the east. It is best known 
as the seat of the University of Illinois, opene4 in 
1868, and now one of the most promising educa- 
tional centers in the country ; women were ad- 
mitted in 1 87 1. The campus covers 623 acres 
and is widely known for its beauty. (Fig. 51.) 

Waukegan (9,426), the county seat of Lake 
County, is on the shore of Lake Michigan, thirty- 
five miles north of Chicago, the principal part 
of the town lying on a bluff above the lake. It 
is the terminus of u belt railway, which runs 
around Chicago to Valparaiso, Ind., crossing all 
railroads that enter Chicago, and thus giving 
Waukegan Chicago freight rates on all sides. This 
results in extensive manufactures, chief among 
which are steel wire, brass, scales, starch, sugar, 
glucose, leather goods, leather, oil, boats, sash, 
doors, and butter. It has valuable mineral 
si)rings. 



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